In American colleges, lectures form a part of the collegiate instruction, especially during the last two years, in the latter part of which, in some colleges, they divide the time nearly equally with recitations. 2. A rehearsal of a lesson.--_Eng. Univ._ Of this word, De Quincey says: "But what is the meaning of a lecture in Oxford and elsewhere? Elsewhere, it means a solemn dissertation, read, or sometimes histrionically declaimed, by the professor. In Oxford, it means an exercise performed orally by the students, occasionally assisted by the tutor, and subject, in its whole course, to his corrections, and what may be called his _scholia_, or collateral suggestions and improvements."--_Life and Manners_, p. 253. LECTURER. At the University of Cambridge, England, the _lecturers_ assist in tuition, and especially attend to the exercises of the students in Greek and Latin composition, themes, declamations, verses, &c.--_Cam. Guide_. LEM. At Williams College, a privy. Night had thrown its mantle over earth. Sol had gone to lay his weary head in the lap of Thetis, as friend Hudibras has it; The horned moon, and the sweet pale stars, were looking serenely! upon the darkened earth, when the denizens of this little village were disturbed by the cry of fire. The engines would have been rattling through the streets with considerable alacrity, if the fathers of the town had not neglected to provide them; but the energetic citizens were soon on hand. There was much difficulty in finding where the fire was, and heads and feet were turned in various directions, till at length some wight of superior optical powers discovered a faint, ruddy light in the rear of West College. It was an ancient building,--a time-honored structure,--an edifice erected by our forefathers, and by them christened LEMUEL, which in the vernacular tongue is called _Lem_ "for short." The dimensions of the edifice were about 120 by 62 inches. The loss is almost irreparable, estimated at not less than 2,000 pounds, avoirdupois. May it rise like a Phoenix from its ashes!--_Williams Monthly Miscellany_, 1845, Vol. I. p. 464, 465.